Hello Blogging World!

Jonny

I’m Jonny, caffeine addict and lover of all things fantasy. Gimme, gimme, gimme!

Gigi

Hey Jonny  Caffeine runs through my veins!

This buddy read and rant is for Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree.

Blurb:

After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.

The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.

If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.

But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

Jonny is an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help him keep things running on his blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

Buddy Read Book Rant:

Jonny

Thanks so much for suggesting we read this Gigi! This book is super popular in my circles, so I was super excited to give it a try even though I haven’t read many books categorized as cozy. What did you think overall. hit or miss?

Gigi

I don’t read a lot of cozies either! I actually went into this one blind. All I saw was the cute ass cover and thought the title sounded fun. I thought it was going to be like Shrek but for adults.

Overall, I wouldn’t call it a complete miss, because it was cute with fun characters. How about you? I think we both felt very similar.

Jonny

Okay, glad I’m not the only one. Low stakes isn’t usually my thing, but the suggested romance of that cover and the fantasy element really pulled me in. I mean, an orc running a coffee shop when no one knows what it is? It’s a genius concept.

Overall I was a little bit disappointed, but I’m not mad about it by any means. It definitely filled all the boxes on the cuteness factor. The characters were fun, but I wanted it to be more dangerous and riveting.

Gigi

I completely agree! It felt more like no stakes for me. Nothing really happened..until the end. And even then, it wasn’t much.

As for the romance. I actually didn’t get that feeling and thought the added romance was a bit of an afterthought and unnecessary. It was fine being just a story of unlikely friendships.

I’m glad we read it together though. Not sure I would have read it till the end if we didn’t. 😜

Jonny

Totally! The stakes were not high enough for me at all. There was a good build up with Viv and what she wanted to do in life. I even liked the HGTV-fantasy kind of theme for a while, but it went on for so long I wondered when any conflict was going to happen. I think it was about the halfway point where anything potentially ominous seemed to be happening.

Yeah, the romance ended up being really lackluster. It was too far and between to really count in this story. Either make it more important to the story or cut it out, I say.

Aww, I’m glad too! It’s always fun reading books with you. Who was your favorite character?

Gigi

I loved Cal & Amity! How about you?

Jonny

Oh, I was actually gonna bring something up. Did you find it ironic that Cal’s full name was Calamity and they’re names spell his together? Kinda made me giggle.

Cal’s personality was great and I loved Amity too. Who doesn’t love a giant catlike creature? 😍😍😍

I also liked Viv’s longtime friend Galina and how mama bear she was in moments.

Should we tell them the cool ideas we had to make this book better? We came up with some cool ones.

Gigi

Lmao. I thought that was funny too! Calamity & Amity. I actually thought amity was a weird name for the cat.

I thought Galina was sweet. Loved her toughness with the dagger and all! 😂 I loved Roon too. He seemed like a great ride or die 💖

Sure..why not?!

I think that madrigal scene could have played out so differently.

Jonny

Maybe the weird Calamity name thing was done on purpose to be cute or something haha.

Oh, Roon! Yeah, Viv had some good friends.

Okay, here’s my alteration for the story:

The coffee shop is just opening for the morning. Viv and Tandri are tending to the first customers and she takes a sip of her morning coffee when screams come from outside.

“Eight hells, what now?” she mumbles.

Then she races outside mug in hand and there’s a monster attacking the city! She’d take her old sword off it’s plaque and slay some monsters for Thune!

That was my favorite idea. I agree that the Madrigal stuff could’ve been more intense and difficult.

Take us there, Baldree! I heard the prequel that’s coming may be more adventure-y so that may fall a bit more into what we prefer.

Gigi

Yes! I was hoping for more of a story where Viv is the town’s heroine and the people there no longer have to be afraid of her.

Hopefully the next book IS more adventure-y with higher stakes!

Jonny

Totally, I wanted to see her hero side but we never really got that, not truly. But I did love the idea we came up with, especially because there’s more potential and her friends from her former adventures could step in whenever she gets overwhelmed with her double life to help kill the monsters.

From what I skimmed at the end of the first book (there was a preview), it did seem a lot more adventure-y, but I guess we’ll just have to see!

Gigi

No spoilers, but I did like the end and little glimpse of what’s to come. I hope it’ll be a little more action in the next one. 💖

Can’t wait till our next buddy read pick! I’m gonna be diving into my first Jim butcher. Have you read anything by him?

Jonny

Oh, I’ve heard of him. That’s the guy that wrote that super famous series The Dresden Files. I haven’t had the pleasure of reading his works yet, but it’s definitely on my list. Which one are you gonna try of his?

Gigi

I bought book 1. Always thought it was a western. But after looking carefully and reading the blurb, he’s a wizard. 😂

Jonny

Nice, I hope you love it to pieces! Hey no judgment here. I always assumed the Dresden Files was just another true crime thing until I looked into it in more detail in the past year or so. Also, he’s wearing a friggin cowboy hat on the cover of the first one! No wonder you got confused! lol

Gigi

Lmao. Exactly! I saw the cowboy hat and turned my nose at it.

Thanks. We’ll definitely have to do another buddy read when you’re ready!

Jonny

Haha, well we can’t be the only ones who thought the same thing. Readers, you tell us. Doesn’t this look like a western?

Glad you’re giving that one a chance, and I can’t wait to do this with you again bestie! 🤗

Gigi

🙌😘

Maybe we’ll read storm front (Jim butcher) together! 😜

Jonny

It could happen for sure!

That’s A Wrap!

Thanks for joining us on our buddy read and rant of Legends & Lattes! We had a lot of fun, and hope you did too! We will definitely be doing some more buddy reads in the future, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, why not check out Gigi and Jonny’s other fun buddy reads?

Buddy Reads & Rants: Mooncakes

Buddy Reads & Rants: The Carrow Haunt

Buddy Reads & Rants: Sorcery of Thorns

Buddy Reads & Rants: Skyward

Buddy Reads & Rants: Renegades

Buddy Reads & Rants: Scythe

Buddy Reads & Rants: The Bone Garden

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